PJM Rhododendron Blues

About two years ago, I planted three PJM Rhododendrons in front of my kitchen window.  Then last summer, something strange happened - one of them slowly died.  I tried nursing it along all summer, but to no avail, and by the end of the summer it was clear that it was a goner.  Then as I was raking leaves in the fall, I found the culprit - my adorable little Bichon-Poo named Jack took it upon himself to "water" said rhododendron.  So this spring, as my husband was doing yard cleanup, he dug out the dead shrub.  Unfortunately, another of the rhododendrons is showing similar signs of struggle that the dead one showed last year.  Dare I guess who is behind that?

Notice the one on the right, how healthy it is!  I'm afraid that when we pull out the dying one on the left, that little bugger will take out this final rhododendron.

So, do I leave the dying one there?   Should I buy a couple of new ones to replant?  Do I need to do anything to get the ammonia out of the soil before replanting?  Does anyone have some good suggestions for deterring this disgusting and destructive male dog behavior?!

Martagon Lily Update

bLast fall, I purchased and planted some martagon lily bulbs. Martagon lilies are shade loving plants, which is great for a yard full of tall oaks that provide lots of lightly dappled shade.  I have never seen martagons in person, but from what I've read, they have whorled foliage that emerges early in the season, and will develop small waxy flowers with recurved petals.  Martagons are slow to increase, which is nice if you don't want to disturb your plantings, but not so much if you want them to multiply in your gardens. From what I have read, they can also lay dormant the first year that they're planted, depending upon the size of the bulb.  So I wasn't sure what to expect of them this spring.  When would they emerge?  What would they look like?  Would I even see them this year?  Well, the good news is that two of three varieties I planted last year are starting to grow!  Here's how they looked today.

The third variety hasn't emerged yet, but I'm not going to give up hope because it was a small, small little bulb compared to the other two.  The one that hasn't sprouted yet is the Pink Attraction martagon, and here's a picture of what it will hopefully look like in my garden some day.

I'd love to hear from other bloggers who may have experience with these understated beauties!

The Daffs Are Blooming! The Daffs Are Blooming!

Look what was greeting me today when I got home!

Not only that, but it was 82 degrees today!  82!  Minnesotans everywhere were giddy as school children on the last day of school, and working in a school, I'm very familiar with that feeling!  Do we spoil the excitement by looking at the weather report for the next few days?  No, because we know we're going to pay for this 82 degrees and we will no doubt have another day in the 40's sometime soon.  That's spring in Minnesota.  But for today, we enjoyed it as if it were summer!

Here are some other blooms in the gardens.

Tilling, tilling, tilling

Northern end of garden - soon to host potatoes, onions, and squash!

I know many gardeners who tout the benefits of a non-tilled garden.  In truth, they're probably on to something.  While I spent hours this weekend with the rototiller running, I shudder to think of the gas that was used to accomplish this feat.  And I believe I've read somewhere that turning up the soil in the entire garden can cause dormant weed seeds from deep in the soil to emerge and sprout, nevermind how upsetting it is to all of the little critters living just below the surface of the earth.   Yet I spent three hours, YES, three hours, tilling my vegetable plot in semi-clandestine fashion, with a guilty pleasure at seeing all of the fresh soil upturned and ready for me to dive in and sew my seeds, but feeling that if I were more eco-friendly, I'd only till where I would plant my rows.  Maybe next year.  Until then, I will admire my freshly tilled garden with it's dark, fluffy soil, and dream of the weather warming enough to do some planting someday soon!

Southern half of garden plot - soon to be salad greens, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, broccoli, dill, peas, beans, and beets (in no particular order).

If you're happy and you know it...

I don't know who is happier - me or these little plants that have been sitting in my bay window for weeks and now get a breath of fresh air because, glory be, the sun is shining!

Little Wonders

There still isn't much happening in the gardens, but I did spot these little blooms the other day.

Pulmonaria

Purple Viola

I also discovered, to my displeasure, that deer seem to enjoy bergenia, as you can kind of see in the photo below.  These are planted out in the shade garden by the road, which is right across from a large wooded area.  I guess they'll need to be moved closer to the house, as if that'll stop the deer.

Deer-chomped Bergenia

And just for fun, here's a picture of the rhubarb making it's appearance.  Funny plant, that rhubarb.  The first year we were in this house, I just let the rhubarb go.  My secretary was quite taken aback by that and the next year, brought me several wonderful rhubarb recipes.  I'm looking forward to rhubarb sweet bread, rhubarb bars, rhubarb pudding cake...  mmmmm!!!

Rhubarb!

Foundation Planting in Need of Serious Help!

Here's a picture of the front of our house.  We moved into my husband's childhood home on a beautiful lake four years ago.  My mother-in-law is a wonderful woman and had many talents, but she is not a gardener.  When she had the house resided and landscaped several years ago, she instructed the landscaper to put in plants that she wouldn't have to do anything with to maintain.  So we had a lot of evergreen shrubs and river rock around here when we moved in.  It is a design that worked for her, but doesn't work for this girl who likes to see flowers blooming and get her hands dirty!

This little foundation planting is the last of the river rock, and it's coming out this spring!  We're in gravel soil, which you could probably guess by the sorry state of our grass, so every bed that I've put in has required a LOT of work removing gravel and hauling in some good soil.  I'm hoping that the landscaper did his job amending the area before he planted way back when.  The site is mostly shade as it is north facing.  I'd like to add some height to the area as well and I wouldn't mind bringing the bed out a few more feet.  Any advice or suggestions out there?